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The Shivaganga River Valley : A Bird’s Eye View
A Historical Perspective
The Shivaganga River Valley, Jnana Prabodhini’s `Karmabhumi’ of all rural development initiatives since 1962, is a valley well-known all over Maharashtra for its heroic contributions to the history of Modern India. It was in the same valley that Chhatrapati Shri Shivaji Maharaj learnt the primary lessons of governance and public administration at the feet of his mother Jijamata and Guru Shri Dadoji Konddev. The valley also witnessed the first battles fought by Shivaji and his men against the Mughals at the various forts of Sinhgad (Kondana), Rajgad, Torna and Purandar. The valley was also a witness to the dedicated sacrifices of a number of stalwarts from the Maratha Kingdom, notably among them being Tanaji Malusare and Baji Pasalkar. Contemporary historians observe that Sinhgad fort, an important part of valley, was frequented by Lokmanya Tilak who used this venue for retreat and contemplation during the early years of India’s Independence struggle. It was also a matter of coincidence that Jnana Prabodhini’s founder Director Shri Appaji Pendse wrote a biography of Swami Vivekananda during his prolonged stay at Sinhgad in the late 50’s. It was during this stay that he, along with Shri Bhagwat, an expert of international repute in town planning, conceived some ideas on the development of the Shivaganga river valley. These ideas coupled with subsequent experiments by JP have nurtured into a comprehensive vision for an integrated development of the valley.
The Shivaganga valley of today
This valley is about 30 kms from Pune and is reached by an important National Highway No. 4 connecting Pune and the Southern cities of Kolhapur-Belgaum-Hubli and Bangalore (Mumbai-Bangalore highway). The valley is bounded by Sahyadri hill-ranges. The Shivaganga river originates from this ranges and flows southwards covering a distance of 30 kms. The valley covers 31 villages i.e. 1.77% of the total number of villages in Pune district. Twelve villages of the valley are in Haveli Taluka and 19 villages are in Bhor Taluka of Pune district. Most of the larger villages are located along the National Highway 4. The valley covers a geographical area of 16,018 hectares which is 1.02% of Pune district area. The population in the valley (according to 1991 census) was 40,081 which was 0.78% of the district population . Average growth rate of population since 1969 is 23.33%. The broad highlights of the Shivaganga valley alongwith a map are presented in Annexure 1.
The Status of Development
The Shivaganga valley offers a representative picture of the developmental dilemmas of modern India. While rain-fed agriculture (mostly paddy) continues to be the primary occupation of 76% of the population, there are pockets of wealth centers in a few villages whose farmers have diversified into other cash-crops such as sugarcane, onion, tomato, etc. Irrigation facilities such as open wells, boring wells have brought prosperity to only 9% of the villages, but 60% of villages still continue to face acute water shortages for drinking and agricultural use during the summer months of April-May -June every year.
Economic Environment
Proximity to Pune has proved to be both - a boon and a bane for all the villages in this valley. Access to a large market like Pune has given spurt to economic activities like dairying, vegetable cultivation, transportation . It has also witnessed migration of a sizable number of youths from the valley to Pune in search of higher education, petty-jobs and even full-time employment. To revert this trend is the principle objective of any developmental effort for the valley. The Shivaganga valley typically represents a sample picture of the rural agrarian society in transition.
As some villagers have migrated to Pune, similarly many entrepeneurs operating in the Pune-Pimpri-Chinchwad industrial belt of the city have chosen to establish ancillary units for their factories in the villages of Shivaganga valley primarily to avail of the sales tax benefits under the package Scheme of Incentives of the Government of Maharashtra for locating new units in the backward region (Zone C and D).
Thus, a few parts of the Shivaganga valley are active with vibrant activities in agricultural and industrial sectors of the economy, majority of the villagers and villages have remained outside the mainstream economic initiatives. This has been a major challenge for Jnana Prabodhini.
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Details of Activities Undertaken in Shivaganga Valley
from 1962 to 1998
Phase 1 : Initiatives for improved agriculture and agricultural practices
Phase 2 : Promotion of employment and self-employment avenues
Total workers trained so far : 2000.
Phase 3 : Watershed development and conservation of Natural Resources in the valley
Phase 4 : Empowerment of Women and Capacity Building of local groups
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Copyright © 1999-2000 JP.May 08, 2000